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I just looked, and the end of March was the last time I wrote about my own creative business journey. That’s almost six months! With the move, the discovery of a new baby and a toddler, it has been difficult to continually stay focused on making an income from home, as many of you know. So, I took some time out and shifted my priorities a little. It wasn’t until the beginning of August that I felt a kick in the pants and decided it was time to give it another go!

The most exciting adventure so far has been turning my blog into a self-hosted site. I tried it before but it didn’t work, so I turned to Amy Cluck-McCallister from Amy is the Party and IndieSacramento, and one of my favorite people in Sacramento, to help with my site and logo. She worked her magic, and we’re in the home stretch! When I started the blog in 2012, I never saw it as a way to make an income. It was just a place for me to write. But, as I have seen some really positive blogger/business relationships and I have seen how mutually beneficial it can be to both, I decided to give it a try.

I’ve seen a preview of what it’s going to look like, and let me just say that I’m super excited to share it with you!

In addition to blogging, I have decided to give my vintage/handmade/print shop another chance. I changed the name to collected + made and have reopened my Etsy shop under that name! I also opened up a shop on Society 6 and I’m selling on eBay too! I have even thought about vending at a local craft fair in November.

I’m excited to get back in the swing of things and to see if I can truly make a creative business out of my passions!

And as promised, the giveaway winner for the beautiful gratitude earrings from Compliment is: Jessica Eapen! Congratulations!!! The winner was picked randomly from my blog, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram! Jessica, please contact me at mamabecrafty@gmail.com so I can get your beautiful earrings to you!

I love finding new things almost as much as I love making them. At this point, probably equally as much I as love making them. And as I’ve said before, I’m lucky that I don’t have to go much further than my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest feed to find something that excites and inspires me.

So, today I’m going to try something a little different and share a new DIY, handmade/small business and food find. Be it a new DIY project or blog; a new handmade item/shop or small business; recipe or a new spot to check out – I want to share it with you. It might not be new, or new to you even, but it’s new to me, so it must be new to someone else too, right?

DIY Find:

Image from Delightfully Tacky

DIY Hand Painted Travel Mug from Delightfully Tacky – Around Christmas time last year, we had just thrown a huge extravaganza for our daughter’s first birthday (because, you know, she’ll totally remember it) and didn’t have a major budget for gifts. I made a few personalized coffee mugs with Sharpies, and while they are permanent on just about everything, coffee mugs are an exclusion. She used a thrifted coffee mug and Pebeo Porcelaine paint markers, which I’m sure work better for this project than Sharpie. I’m excited to try this out again, and if it works…it looks like I’ll be making some more mugs this year!

Handmade/Small Business Find:

Image from Nell and Mary

I have been following the Renegade Craft Fair on Instagram for some time now, just in case I actually get a chance to attend one. I love when they have makers take over their Instagram account for a day to give people an inside look at how they run their business. Yesterday was Nell and Mary‘s turn and I loved all of their photos. They are a design studio in Portland that makes totes, pouches, tea towels, napkins, aprons and pillows. They also have a clothing line called Make it Good that is equally lovely. Another stop to put on my Portland Bucket List.

Food Find:

If there is one thing I can say about Sacramento, there is never a shortage of places to eat. And it feels like new restaurants are popping up every time I turn around. I visit Midtown at least once I week and I swear every time I do, there’s a new spot. That could be a slight exaggeration.

Photo from Sactown Magazine

I’m not a huge seafood fan, aside from sushi. And even then, I like it either tempura-fried or filled with cream cheese. My boyfriend, however, loves seafood and is constantly on the hunt for some good fish tacos. So when I saw someone post about Wahoo’s, I needed to find out more. According to the article in Sactown Magazine, its 18th and L location is the first in the Sacramento area. Wahoo’s features an eclectic menu with influences from Mexico, Brazil and Asia, and has plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. I’m in!

Image from The Parlor Ice Cream Puffs

And because my sweet tooth just cannot be tamed, there is The Parlor Ice Cream Puffs. Yes, you read that right – they put ice cream in the middle of puff pastries. The one in the photo is an apple fritter ice cream puff with Midnight in Paris ice cream (coffee and nutella). My mom and I already have plans to visit this weekend.

I haven’t worked on any restoration projects in a while, and I was starting to get in a slump. So I was excited to learn that my generous stepsister (who gifted me the barn windows I worked with earlier) had some cabinet doors and old frames that she wasn’t going to use. After I find out what I can and can’t paint with during my pregnancy, I’m excited to get to work on them!

I searched for some projects on Pinterest to get some inspiration, and I found a couple of really cool tutorials!

Photo from Autie at iCandy

First, there is this repurposed cabinet door art table for the kiddos, which I love. I don’t think it will work for the cabinets I have, but it’s definitely something I want to try in the future! The tutorial is written by Autie from iCandy on U Create, and it’s complete with instructions and photos!

Photo from The Elli Blog

Sometimes I think I’m over all the chalkboard stuff, but then I find beautiful designs like this, and I decide that I love it all over again. I’ve seen cabinet doors turned into chalkboards before, but I really just like how nice it looks when it’s done. I wanted to put up a little chalkboard in the corner by our dinner table and this would be perfect! The entire tutorial with photos is written by Lia on The Elli Blog, a beautiful blog that focuses on weddings but also has tutorials for everyday living!

Photo from DIY Inspired

And finally, a beautiful jewelry organizer from Dinah on DIY Inspired. Now, I don’t wear jewelry a lot. I don’t go out very often, and the my daughter broke the necklace that my boyfriend got me literally days after I got it. But I do have a lot of jewelry (and not all of it is costume) and when I do go out, I like to get all gussied up since it probably won’t happen again for another year. So this repurposed cabinet door would be nice to put up in our room or bathroom!

Have you restored a cabinet door and want to share your project? Did you follow one of these tutorials and want to share? Post in the comments and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google + and Pinterest! I’m always up for new ideas and inspiration so share em if you got em!

Clearly, I’m more excited about decorating Cecilia’s room than any other room in the house. I don’t think that should be any surprise though, little kids’ rooms are so much fun! I’m sticking with the Vintage Carnival theme and I have found some really cute stuff to put in her room. The only thing…this stuff is expensive!

I do agree that it’s hard for a lot of these small businesses to stay afloat because everyone is going the DIY route, and I do also agree that artists should be compensated for the craftsmanship that goes into their work. I am in no way saying that their prices are not deserved, I just don’t have that kind of money. There are some things that I just cannot make, and for those…I will be happy to shell out some bucks when I have extra bucks to shell out.

Ok, rant over. Here are some of the awesome things I found to adorn my little baby’s abode.

1. Vintage Circus Toy Chest from Rosenberry Rooms – Has anyone heard of Rosenberry Rooms before? I just started seeing things pop up from the site, and it looks pretty cool. It’s all high-end furniture for kids so if you can afford it…go for it! And while this chest from Art for Kids may be a little out of my price range at $2000, it has inspired me to create my own chest for Cecilia, either be repurposing an old one or starting from scratch.

2. I know fabric bunting has been over and over again, but I’ve always been a little late to the party. I would love to do this over her crib, maybe even do several strands throughout her room. Some strands could have photos on them. Fun! This banner from Starlit Nest is sold out, but she has a lot of cute stuff in her shop.

3. So, here’s something I probably won’t be able to recreate for a while, and it’s in my price range. BOOM! This Carnival Nursery print from ScarlettElla is $8 for a 4×6 and of course, as the size goes up – so does the price. She also sells a set of nine of Carnival Nursery prints for $50.

4. I love this Marquee letter “C” and luckily, I happen to know (and live with) an amazing welder, who would probably make it or teach me how to weld if I begged him enough. This inspiration has come from Gilt who has a 24″ one going for $154, if you are inclined.

Patience has never been one of my strong points. So it’s no surprise that from the moment I found out we were buying a house, I’ve been on the hunt for a theme and colors for Cecilia’s room. Since we moved so soon after she was born, I have never really had a chance to decorate her room.

Once we get our house, Cecilia will no longer have to offer me office space in her room and it will be all hers. So I want to make it all about her, because that’s kind of how it goes around here. And since she spends a lot of time playing in there – and I spend a lot of time cleaning in there – I want it to be fun.

I’ve decided on a vintage carnival theme and at the moment, this is the color palette. Since we have a coupon for Benjamin Moore paints, most of this is from their collection. We roll thrifty, yo.

The print is from Yatana Co Photography, but their Etsy shop is no longer available.

I will continue to share inspiration for our living situation each week on Tuesdays, including decor ideas, flea market finds, color palettes and more. If you have any ideas to share or have felt inspired from what I’ve posted, please let me know! Post any links you have in the comments or e-mail them to me and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google +!

I am cowboy boots – deep in the middle of the transitional part of my journey right now. My blog is still in the redesign process and my friend and I are working on new items for our shop and I’m working on designing a really neat logo and beefing up our marketing. So, while I work on giving my businesses the attention they need, I wanted to share a few resources that are inspiring me right now.

Image from Confident Creatives

When I worked at my College newspaper, my favorite type of article to write was a profile on someone. A lot of the other writers didn’t share the same feeling, so I was always assigned profiles – which made me ecstatic, and helped shape the profiles I write on my blog now. I love to hear people’s stories, and share them from my point of view. That being said, I will never write someone’s story for them, if that makes sense. This article on How to Write Your About Story from Confident Creatives is the perfect explanation of why I will not write an “About Me” section for anyone. Nobody can write your story better than you.

Image from Oh My! Handmade!Goodness

You already know my love for Oh My! Handmade Goodness. Sadly, I had to let my membership go until I am ready to dive in head first again, and it’s just not going to happen right now. But, that does not mean that I’m going to stop engaging in the conversation and reading what the wonderful Jessika Hepburn has to say. This month, she’s starting a new series called Shoots & Roots and she’s asking creative business owners to share their story about cultivating their business, much like gardeners cultivate their business. If you are interested in sharing your experience, there are several topics to choose from. I already have a topic in mind that I’m going to write about!

Image from How to Thrive

How to Thrive was founded last year and the Organizers Amie and Louisa are friends and business partners who share tips and resources for moms who are starting their own businesses. It looks like their Facebook page was just launched last month and they are still working on their website. You can find a lot of helpful information and motivation by visiting their Facebook and I’m really excited to see all that they will share in the future.

I have been wanting to get back into working out daily for a long time. And I have come up with every excuse I can squeeze out of my lips and finger tips for why I’m not doing it. I’m tired. I have no energy. I chase a toddler around every hour I’m awake – isn’t that enough? Yesterday, I decided it was time to stop excusing why I had abandoned something that I secretly loved and that pushed me to take care of myself.

I wanted to involve Cecilia in my workouts and I knew that the baby workouts I did so long ago will probably not cut it for a baby on the move – so I searched for some new exercises I could do with my girl.

Photo from Bulu Box

I found this little diddy from Rena Roark on Bulu Box that has fun exercises to do with your little one all the way up to your adolescent. Crazy to think that Cecilia will eventually be an adolescent. Blasphemy! I also found a neat 28 day workout plan to do with your kid from Inspired by Familia that I’m going to give a whirl.

Now, moving on to the taste buds…I have….THIS!

Photo from Kim’s Healthy Eats

Oven Fried Pickles from Kim’s Healthy Eats paired with Clean Eating Ranch Dressing from The Gracious Pantry makes me a happy girl. I’m a sucker for fried pickles, and I was over the moon to learn there is a healthier recipe and I cannot wait to make them as an appetizer, or as dinner on a solo night.

Want to share a workout or recipe? Post in the comments and connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Google +. I love meeting new friends who are on the same journey, and I love making new discoveries – especially when they involve yoga and food!